Continuum (Ligeti)
Encyclopedia
Continuum for harpsichord
is a musical composition
by György Ligeti
composed in 1968, and dedicated to the contemporary harpsichordist, Antoinette Vischer. The composer describes the conception and result of its technique:
Amy Bauer (2004, p.130) describes the piece as trompe-l'œil, creating "a sense of stasis
through extremely rapid activity." She compares it to a patient's description of their schizophrenic experience of, "an intense cerebral activity in which inner experiences took place at greatly increased speed, so that much more than usual happened per minute of external time. The result was to give an effect of slow motion
." (Sass 1992)
This piece has also been arranged for barrel organ
and for two player piano
s by the composer.
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
is a musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
by György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
composed in 1968, and dedicated to the contemporary harpsichordist, Antoinette Vischer. The composer describes the conception and result of its technique:
Amy Bauer (2004, p.130) describes the piece as trompe-l'œil, creating "a sense of stasis
Stasis
The term stasis may refer to* A state of stability, in which all forces are equal and opposing, therefore they cancel out each other....
through extremely rapid activity." She compares it to a patient's description of their schizophrenic experience of, "an intense cerebral activity in which inner experiences took place at greatly increased speed, so that much more than usual happened per minute of external time. The result was to give an effect of slow motion
Slow motion
Slow motion is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger....
." (Sass 1992)
This piece has also been arranged for barrel organ
Barrel organ
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
and for two player piano
Player piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
s by the composer.
Sources
- Bauer, Amy (2004). "'Tone-Color, Movement, Changing Harmonic Planes': Cognition, Constraints and Conceptual Blends", The Pleasure of Modernist Music. University of Rochester Press. ISBN 1-58046-143-3.
- Ligeti in Conversation. Cited in Bauer.
- Sass (1992). Madness and Modernism: Insanity in the Light of Modern Art, Literature, and Thought. New York: Basic Books. Cited in Bauer.
- Amazon.com (2007) Amazon.com: Ligeti: Mechanical Music: Music: Gyorgy Ligeti, Pierre Charial, Jürgen Hocker, Françoise Terrioux http://www.amazon.com/Ligeti-Mechanical-Music-Gyorgy/dp/B0000029P2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-6034794-6011304?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1176526503&sr=8-1 (accessed April 14, 2007)